Dust-collector for pneumatic cleaning systems.



D. T. WILLIAMS.

DUST COLLECTOR FOR PNEUMATIC CLEANING SYSTEMS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 19, 1908.

Patented May 23, 1911.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

, DAVID T. WILLIAMS, P ATERSON, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO VACUUM ENGI- 'NEERING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK. I

DUST-COLLECTOR FOR lNEUMATIC CLEANING- SYSTEMS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 23, 1911.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID T. WILLIAMS, a British subject, and a residentof Paterson, county of Passaic, State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements-in Dust-Collectors for Pneumatic Cleaning Systems,'of which the following is a full, clear, and complete disclosure. v

The object of my invention is to provide a dust or dirt collector in which water may be used for absorbing and removing from the airthe dust conveyed through the pipes by the apparatus for producing pneumatic suction. y

In dust collectors heretofore employed in connection with vacuum cleaningapparatus,

- it has been necessary to stop the apparatus and the action'of the suction device in order to withdraw the dirt and saturating water or other liquid from the collecting or depositing chamber, owing to the fact that the vjsuction under which the apparatus is operber, which is provided with. '2,.forthe dirt and air.

ated would either prevent the outflow of water or permit the. admission of air. It has also been necessary'in other cases to proorder-to withdraw the dirt and water while the suction remains active in the collecting chamber. My invention overcomes these 0bj'ectionable features by providing a device in the nature of a barometric column, by

means of which the waterand dirt may flow from the collecting chamber under the in-v fluence of gravity, without. the use of an additional suction device,and without stopping the apparatus. i

. For a full and detailed description of one form of my invention, which I at present deem preferable, referencemay be had to the following specification and to the accompanying drawing, in which the device is shown in elevation and partly in section, and as arranged for actual operation.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 1 indicates the' collecting oryd'epositing chaman .inlet pipe The numeral "3 indicates a suction pipe connected with any suitable means for produeing a pneumatic suction, such as the vacuum pump 4.

The bottom of the colle'ctin chamber 1 is preferably made conical in s ape, as indicated at 5, and the conical portion is connected with a vertical stand-pipe or column 6, the lower end of which is provided with a suitable pipe connection 7, communicating with the sewer or drain 8. The lower portion of the column 6 may be provided with a suitable check-valve 9 to prevent the back flow of water from the sewer, should the pressure therein become greater than atmospheric pressure. Check-valve 9, under normal conditions, remains open, the liquid flowing downward through the pipe 6 and emptying into the sewer or drain 8. \Vhen, however, the sewer or drain is flooded and the pressure therein is greater than atmospheric pressure,the check-valve 9 closes, preventing an overflow into the vacuumpump. A- suitable float-valve 10 is connected with a passage opening into the depositing chamber, and is'operated by means of the float 11 resting upon the surface of the water in the depositing chamber 1. Water may be admitted to the depositing chamber 1 in any suitable manner, such as by the water-supply pipe 12 or the pipe 13.

If water is used with the cleaning devices connected with the apparatus,of course the water thereby supplied tends to add to the amount in the saturating chamber, but'in that case the discharge of the water from the depositing chamber will be automatically controlled, as when the water enters through the pipes 12 or 13 only.

When the apparatus is in operation, air

and dirt, or air, dirt and water will'be sucked in through the pipe 2'by the action of the vacuum pump 4 through the pipe 3, and since the pipe 2.extends below the surface of the water in the collecting chamber, the dust and dirt will be deposited, and the air that is withdrawn will be free of ma terials that would -tend to injure the pump. The float valve 10 maintains a substantially constant level of the water in the collecting chamber, without regard to any variation in the amount of suction or the vacuum produced bv the pumpl It is obvious that the I height of the Water in the collecting chamher above the lower end of the column 6 should be such as to correspond to the suction produced by the pump. Should a larger amount of Water be supplied than is required, the float 11 of the float-valve 10 allows said valve to open and'admit air until the height of the water returns to its normal level. It will, therefore, be seen that the collecting chamber 1 and the pipe '6 constitute a device in the nature of a balanced barometric column through which the dirt 4 and Water may continuously flow without affectingthe action of the suction and wi th out interrupting the operation of the appa- -ratus.

ing from the spirit and. scope of myinven tion, but

I What I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

In a pneumatic cleaning apparatus, thecombination of a closed depositing chamber, meansfor exhausting air therefrom, a downwardly' discharging pipe leading therefrom, means for supplying water and dirt and air to said depositing chamber and for gradually allowing dirt and water to escape by way of said downwardly discl'iarging pipe,

and means whereby the degree of exhaustion, or vacuum, in said chamber is regul'ated by the level or height of the water in said chamber, substantially as described.

Signed this 16th day or March, 1908.

DAVID '1. \VILLIA M S." \Vitnessesi JAMES J. Cosonovn, Row. 7. VAILL, Jr. 

